How the Dallas Cowboys Scoreboard Works

The scoreboard has four screens. Two gigantic screens face the end zones. They measure 29 feet (8.8 meters) high and 51 feet (15.5 meters) wide. The other two screens are even more massive and face the sidelines. These monstrosities measure 72 feet (21.9 meters) high and 160 feet (48.8 meters) wide. Together, all four screens create 25,000 square feet (about 2,323 square meters) of displays.

The sideline displays are so wide that they stretch from one 20-yard line to the other. According to Jerry Jones, the owner and general manager for the Dallas Cowboys, the experience is better than viewing the game on a 60-inch television screen at home, no matter where your seats are in the stadium.

Those displays aren't lightweights. The combined weight of the four screens is 600 tons. A 72-foot tall (21.9 meter) steel support system carries the weight. The support has 10 levels of catwalks that allow engineers access to the displays for maintenance. Steel cables 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter tether the displays to the stadium's pair of steel arches.

The center display isn't the only technological wonder in the stadium -- the stadium also has a ribbon-style screen in the upper levels that measures about 4 feet high (1.2 meters) and an incredible 2,000 feet long (610 meters).

Keeping Score

As if suspending a 600-ton display wasn't enough, the steel framework suspended from the ceiling of the stadium can also support a 90,000 pound (40,823 kilogram) basketball arena scoreboard.